A new regulation signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Coronavirus Disease Health Protection 2021 had made the use of face masks in public places mandatory among other measures to curtail further spread of COVID-19.

Boss Mustapha, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19,  and also Secretary to the Government of the Federation, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday.

 

President Buhari signed the new regulation on Tuesday, Mustapha said.

 

According to Mustapha, the President signed the document based on the powers conferred on him by Section 4 of the Quarantine Act, Cap. Q2 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010.

 

A review of Part 2 of the regulation shows that it says that no person shall be allowed within the premises of a market, mall, supermarket, shop, restaurants, hotels, event centres, gardens, leisure parks, recreation centres, motor parks, fitness centre or any other similar establishment “except he is wearing a face covering that covers the nose and mouth, he washes his hands or cleaned the hands using hand sanitiser approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, and his body temperature has been checked. Any person found to have a body temperature above 38 degrees Celsius shall be denied entry and advised to immediately seek medical attention.”

 

Part 1 of the regulation deals with restrictions on gatherings and states that at all gatherings, a physical distance of at least two metres shall be maintained at all times between persons.

“No gathering of more than 50 persons shall hold in an enclosed space, except for religious purposes, in which case the gathering shall not exceed 50 per cent capacity of the space,” it said.

 

“All persons in public gatherings, whether in enclosed or open spaces, shall adhere to the provisions of Part 2 of these Regulations.

 

“The provisions of these regulations may be varied by Guidelines and Protocols as may be issued, from time to time, by the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 on the recommendation of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.”